Friday, 29 April 2016

The A*STAR Science Award (Junior College) is given to Singaporean JC1/Year 5 students who demonstrate particularly strong aptitude and interest in math and science to spur their passion in scientific research and development (R&D).

About 150 awards are offered through schools to JC1 students annually. Applications are invited through nominations by schools only.

There is no interview :)

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Dear Lim Li,

Congratulations! We are pleased to inform that you have been selected for the 2016 A*STAR Science Award (Junior College). The certificate of award will be presented at the A*STAR Science Award (Junior College) Engagement Session on 12 August 2016.

The award provides an annual allowance of S$1,000. As an A*STAR Science Award (JC) recipient, you are required to take up a full-time research attachment at an A*STAR Research Institute for five weeks from 21 November to 23 December 2016. We will be contacting you, after your acceptance of the award, to provide you with more details of the research attachment. You will also be invited to attend talks and seminars organized by A*STAR. We would like to encourage you to take full advantage of the learning opportunities presented through this award.

Renewal of the award in JC 2 (or equivalent) is subject to excellent results in your JC1 (or equivalent) end-of-year examinations, good performance in your attachment and your continued interest in Science and Research.

Friday, 22 April 2016

Lim Min has been selected to participate in the 4th Heidelberg Laurette Forum which will be held in Heidelberg, Germany, from 18 to 23 September this year. Many thanks to HLFF for selecting her, NTU's Prof Tang, for having nominated her, and NTU SPMS for sponsoring her travel expenses. We are very grateful to NTU for nurturing her and for giving her so much opportunities ever since she joined NTU about 3 years ago!

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Dear Min Lim,

Congratulations!
We are pleased to inform you that the Scientific Committee of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation (HLFF) has selected you to participate in the 4th Heidelberg Laureate Forum, taking place from September 18 to 23 in Heidelberg, Germany. Only the 200 most qualified young researchers are granted the opportunity to experience the unique atmosphere of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum.
Please read the following information carefully and follow the instructions for your online registration.

Accommodation

As Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination, hotel accommodation is very limited in September. Thus, please fill in your travel details in the respective section of your online profile no later than July 31, 2016.
Please note that the HLFF will cover the costs for hotel accommodation for a maximum of seven nights within the period of September 17 (arrival) to 24 (departure), 2016. Once your accommodation is booked, you will receive an email confirmation. If your travel details are NOT completed on time, you will be required to arrange accommodation on your own.

Travel

When planning your travel, please keep in mind that you are requested to stay for the entire event. If you arrive before September 18, we strongly encourage you to register onsite on Saturday, September 17, 2016, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The registration desk will be in the foyer of Heidelberg University at the University Square.

Costs

The HLFF will provide board and lodging for all participants during the 4th Heidelberg Laureate Forum.
To cover your travel expenses, you should request financial support from your home institutions (university, research lab, company). If that fails, you should apply with a national funding agency in your respective countries. If both applications are rejected, you can apply for financial support from the HLFF. The travel grant application form is available for download on the online registration tool. The rejection letters have to be included in the travel grant application. Those of you who are not eligible for national funding are requested to specify the reason(s).

Wednesday, 6 April 2016

Many undergraduates work as interns during their school breaks, typically from end May to early August period, which is the local universities' long break. Doing internships or industrial attachments will help the students to gain valuable job experience, to have a first hand experience of the kind of job they want to do after graduation, and also increase the chance of being recruited upon graduation by the companies at which they interned. One may choose to intern during the long break just after Year 1, 2 or 3 (assuming it is a 4-year course). However, opportunities are most aplenty for Year 3 students, as large organisations are recruiting potential employees to join their companies after the students have graduated. One may apply for internships through his university, or directly to the companies.

Recruitment process may start as early as 9 or 6 months before the internship. For instance, Lim Min has started to apply for May - Aug 2016 internship period in Aug-Dec 2015. Companies (with either local or overseas attachments) that she had applied include: Jane Street, Facebook, Google, Merck Sharp & Dohme, P & G, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, GIC, Merrill Lynch Bank of America. Most of the intern jobs that she has applied fall under Tech Professional or Software Engineer category. After going through many, many rounds of selection tests and interviews, she has had some rejections and offers.

Interestingly, these companies offer successful interns a wide salary range, it may be from as low as S$800 per month to as much as above S$10,000 per month.

After much consideration, Lim Min has decided to accept the offer from GIC.